In summary
The OM-3 camera’s price relative to its sensor size is on the high side, however it has a couple of important factors in its favour that could make some potential buyers choose it over alternative full-frame and APS-C cameras.
First and foremost is its lighter weight – plus the generally lighter weight of M4/3 lenses, compared with their full-frame and APS-C alternatives. Then there’s the IP53-rated weather resistance, which no camera from the other leading manufacturers can match. Both should be taken into consideration when making your choice.
Full review
Shortly after we published our First Look at the new OM-3 camera, OM Digital Solutions contacted us to tell us the camera we had received was, in fact, an early production unit. Accordingly, we have run our full range of resolution, timing and video tests, which are published here.
Angled view of the new OM-3 camera fitted with the compact M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-45mm kit lens. (Source: OM Digital Solutions.)
We would also like to add the following details about the camera, which we learned while carrying out our tests:
- The menu system is multi-levelled, which we expected for stills recording but not for recording movie clips. By default, the camera is set to record in NTSC format, a natural choice for the Japanese and American markets but not ideal for users in PAL system countries like Australia. You can reset the camera for PAL format recording by selecting the 50p and 25p settings in the Frame Rate sub-menu via the Image Quality tab on the first page of the Movie menu.
- In-camera movie editing functions include a RAW data edit option based on the camera settings (Color Creator, Art Filters, etc.) in place when the clip was recorded. You can also make adjustments to gradation and select from the following: monochrome, sepia, red-eye fix and saturation. Clips can be resized (1280×960, 640×480, 320×240), trimmed (beginning and end only) and their aspect ratio changed. Image overlay is also supported.
- Switching between stills and movie shooting is much faster and easier with the top panel dial and each mode keeps the last set of settings you used. If you’ve set the colour mode to Same as Picture Mode, most settings will be replicated, except for the dedicated video settings such as Flat, the two OM Cinema modes, OM-Log400 and HLG.
- The OM-3 can also be used as a webcam via a UVC/UAC video/audio interface.
- Users can choose between 8-bit H.264 and 10-bit H.265 codecs, with the latter being required for Log and Hybrid Log-gamma HDR recordings. The camera also provides useful aids like zebra patterns (2 levels), focus peaking (4 colours), a centre marker, front tally light and a red frame display around the screen when recording is taking place. The View Assist mode lets users see what clips recorded in the Log modes will look like when graded.
- Video footage can be output from the camera via its micro HDMI port and the camera provides both headphone and microphone jacks.
Performance
Since publishing the First Look review last week we’ve updated this review to include the results of our Imatest tests, which were carried out using our updated procedures.
Unfortunately, the OM-3 is not yet supported by Adobe Camera Raw, our preferred raw file converter. We evaluated some of the raw files in our test series after converting them into 16-bit TIFF format with the manufacturer’s software, OM Workspace and found the end results had lower resolutions than the JPEGs straight from the camera, although their colour quality was slightly better. Accordingly, we have only published the colour test results
An examination of the JPEG results showed a fair degree of in-camera sharpening has occurred in all tested files. We’ve often identified over-sharpening in previous reviews of OM Systems and Olympus equipment, although never to this degree when no in-camera sharpening had been applied. We hope this isn’t an on-going characteristic of this camera model.
The results we obtained from different ISO settings suggested users should keep sensitivity setting at or below ISO 1600 when they require optimal image quality. The graph above plots the test results we obtained across the camera’s ISO range. We’ve superimposed a red line on it to mark settings that delivered resolutions that were at or just above the optimal level for the camera’s 20-megapixel sensor.
Video performance was generally good, which is to be expected since the OM-3 has inherited its video specs from the OM-1 Mark II (which also copied the specs of the OM-1). Clips at the 4K resolutions are recorded at full-frame width – unless you opt for the digital telephoto mode, which crops the frame or electronic stabilisation, which applies a 1.18x crop.
Auto exposure adjustments were also fast when zooming and/or panning, once focus was acquired – and we didn’t see any rolling shutter effects in the clips we recorded.
The AF system was able to track moving subjects both when the camera was held steady, aided by the excellent in-camera and in-lens stabilisation systems as well as during steady pans. Soundtracks recorded by the internal microphones were relatively clean, given the limitations of the system, although the wind filter failed to completely eliminate wind noise.
Our timing tests were carried out with a 64GB Lexar Professional SDHC II / V60 card with a claimed speed of 250MB/s. The review camera took just under one second to power up, which is about average for a modern camera.
Capture lag averaged 0.1 second, regardless of whether the shot was triggered with the shutter button or by touching the monitor screen. Shot-to-shot times averaged 0.35 seconds.
Like the OM-1 II, the OM-3 only indicates processing is occurring with a small orange dot in the top left corner of the monitor. Using it we found image processing speeds were too fast to measure when recording individual JPEG or ORF.RAW files, although it was usable for measuring burst processing times.
With the SH1 high-speed sequential shooting mode set at 100 fps, we recorded a burst of 148 Large/ Super Fine JPEGs in 9.5 seconds without hesitating. This equates to a frame rate of 15.6 fps, which is significantly slower than the 20 fps specified, probably because the card wasn’t fast enough to support the maximum frame rate. Processing was completed within 9 seconds of the last frame captured.
A similar number of frames were recorded with ORF.RAW files but the frame rate was slightly slower at 15.3 fps and it took 14.5 seconds to clear the buffer memory. When we swapped to the sequential shooting mode, the camera recorded 61 frames in 10.6 seconds, which was close to the specified 6 fps. Processing was completed within three seconds of the last frame captured.
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SPECS
Image sensor: 17.4 x 13.0 mm Stacked BSI Live MOS sensor with 22.9 million photosites (20.4 megapixels effective); Quad Pixel Bayer Pattern
Image processor: TruePic X Dual Quad Core Processor
Lens mount: Micro Four Thirds
Focal length crop factor: 2x
Image formats: Stills: JPEG (DCF Ver. 2.0, Exif Ver. 2.31), ORF.RAW (12-bit lossless compression), RAW+JPEG; Movies: MOV (MPEG-4 AVC/ H.264 and HEVC/H.265 10-bit video)
Audio: Wave Format (Stereo linear PCM/16-bit, Sampling frequency 48kHz)
Image Sizes: Stills: 5184 x 3888 to 1024 x 768 pixels; Handheld High Res Shot: Max. 8160 x 610 JPEG (50M) or ORF.RAW (12-bit/14-bit); JPEG (25M) 5760 x 4320
Movies: 4K (4096 x 2160 and 3840 x 2160) at 30/25/24p and 60/50p with Long GOP compression; 1920 x 1080 at 30/25/24p and 60/50p with ALL-I compression; Quick and Slow movie settings available
Aspect ratios: 4:3, 3:2, 16:9, 1:1
Image Stabilisation: Built-in 5-axis sensor-shift IS, up to 7.5 EV shake correction with Sync IS in stabilised lenses
Dust removal: Supersonic Wave Filter
Shutter (speed range): Focal plane mechanical shutter; CIPA rated for 400,000 cycles (60-1/8000 seconds plus Live Bulb, Live Time and Live Composite; Electronic shutter: 60 to 1/32,000 second in silent shutter mode
Exposure Compensation: +/-5 EV in 1/3, ½ or 1EV steps (+/-3 EV in Live View)
Exposure bracketing: 3 or 5 frames (0.3/0.7/1.0EV steps selectable), 7 frames (0.3/0.7EV steps selectable)
Other bracketing options: ISO, WB, flash, Art Filters, focus (3 to 99 frames with 1-10 steps selectable); Focus Stacking supported
Self-timer: 2 or 12 seconds delay plus Custom settings
Multiple exposures: Yes, 2 frames composited
Interval recording: Yes, for time-lapse movies at 3840 x 2160 (4K) / 5fps, 10fps, 15fps, 30fps, 1920 x 1080 (FHD) / 5fps, 10fps, 15fps, 30fps or 1280 x 720 (HD) / 5fps, 10fps, 15fps, 30fps
Focus system: High-speed imager AF (phase detection/ contrast detection) with 1053 points and full frame coverage
AF selection: All target, Single target (1 point), Small target (9 points), Cross target (39 points), Middle target (63 points), Large target (165 points), Custom target (AF area and its increment steps selectable); up to 4 custom target settings can be saved
Focus modes: Single AF (S-AF), Single AF (S-AF+MF), Continuous AF (C-AF), Continuous AF (C-AF+MF), Manual Focus (MF), AF tracking (C-AF + TR), AF tracking (C-AF + TR+MF), Preset MF, Starry sky AF (S-AF), Starry sky AF (S-AF+MF); 5 steps of AF sensitivity adjustments, face & eye detection; AI detection AF for Formula cars, rally cars, motorcycles / Aircraft, helicopters / Bullet trains, standard trains, steam locomotives / birds / dogs, cats
Exposure metering: Digital ESP 324-area multi-pattern system with Multiple, Centre-weighted average and spot metering patterns plus spot metering with highlight/shadow control; range -2 EV to +20 EV
Shooting modes: Program AE, Aperture Priority AE, Shutter Priority AE, Manual Exposure, Bulb, Custom (x5)
Colour Profiles: Standard (Natural), Chrome Film Rich colour, Chrome Film Vivid, Chrome Film Soft tone (front dial); Saturation of 12 colours can be adjusted in 11 steps (+/-5 steps) and settings can be stored individually to any of 4 COLOUR Custom profiles.
Monochrome Profiles: Colour filter effects: None/8 colours (Red, Orange, Yellow, Yellow-Green, Green, Cyan, Blue, Magenta) with 3 steps of adjustment; Shading effect: 11 steps (-5 ~ +5); Film grain effect: Off/Low/Med/High; Monochrome colour: Normal, Sepia, Blue, Purple, Green. Settings can be stored individually to any of 4 MONO Custom profiles.
Picture modes: i-Enhance, Vivid, Natural, Muted, Portrait, Monochrome, Custom, Underwater, Colour Creator, Art Filters
Art Filter modes: i-Enhance, Vivid, Natural, Muted, Portrait, Monotone, Custom, Under Water, Art Filters, Color Creator and Profile Control selectable
Other in-camera functions: Live Composite, HDR (2 settings), Keystone Compensation, Fisheye Compensation (3 styles), Live ND, Live ND64, High Res Shot (Handheld and Tripod modes), One Push Tele-converter (2x magnification)
Movie functions: Flat, OM-Log400, HLG Picture Modes, Time code (Rec run / free run, drop frame / non-drop frame), focus peaking, zebra pattern; C4K ProRes RAW movie support
Colour space options: sRGB and Adobe RGB
ISO range: Auto, ISO 200 to 25600 plus extensions to ISO 80, ISO 100 and ISO 102400
White balance: AWB, AWBc, AWBw, Daylight, Cloudy, Shade, Incandescent, Flash, White Set (x 4), Colour temperature setting (x 4)
Flash: External flashguns only; compatible with all OM SYSTEM / Olympus Flashes
Flash modes: Fill-in, Flash Off, Slow sync., Manual (1/1 (FULL) ~ 1/64) – only with FL-LM3
Flash exposure adjustment: +/- 3EV in 1/3, ½ and 1EV steps
Sequence shooting: Max. 120 frames/sec. in silent mode with electronic shutter; Anti-shock sequential shooting at approx 10 fps with selectable 1-10 fps; Silent sequential shooting at up to 120 fps with selectable 5, 10, 15, 20 fps with blackout or 60, 100, 120 fps without blackout (slower shutter speeds and flash cannot be used); ProCapture burst shooting supported
Buffer capacity: Max. 169 Large/Fine JPEGs, 139 RAW files at 10 fps
Storage Media: Single slot for SD, SDHC, SDXC cards (UHS-I / UHS-II UHS Speed Class 3 standard compatible)
Viewfinder: Eye-level OLED EVF with 2,360,000 dots, 100% FOV, 4:3 aspect ratio,1.48~1.65x magnification, approx. 21 mm eye relief, -4 to +2 dpt adjustments, 6 grid overlay options, 2-axis level gauge, adaptive brightness technology plus +/-7 levels of brightness and colour temperature adjustments
LCD monitor: 3-inch vari-angle monitor with 1,620,000 dots, 3:2 aspect ratio, electrostatic touch controls, +/-7 levels of brightness and colour temperature adjustments
Weather sealing: to IP53 IEC Standard specification (with IP53 lens; when used with an IPX1 lens, performance becomes IPX1.)
Interface terminals: USB-Type C, micro HDMI (Type D), hot shoe, sync terminal, 3.5 mm stereo mini jacks for microphone and headphones, 2.5mm remote control jack
Wi-Fi function: Built-in Wi-Fi; Bluetooth v4.2 (Bluetooth Low Energy)
Power supply: BLX-1 rechargeable Li-ion battery; CIPA rated for approx.500 shots/charge; up to1100 shots with Quick Sleep mode; 90 minutes of movie recording; PD support for direct USB charging
Dimensions (wxhxd): Approx. 139.3 x 88.9 x 45.8 mm (excluding protrusions)
Weight: Approx. 496 grams with battery and card
Distributor: OM Digital Solutions Australia Pty Ltd
TESTS
(Carried out with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO lens.)
Raw file colour tests results:
JPEG file colour and resolution test results:
SAMPLES
All images and videos were recorded with the M.Zuiko Digital ED 12-100mm f/4 IS PRO lens.
100mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/640 second at f/8.
80mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/500 second at f/7.1.
100mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/320 second at f/9.
24mm focal length, ISO 200, 1/200 second at f/8.
All video clips from which the screen grabs below were taken were recorded in MOV (HEVC/H.265), YCbCr 4:2:0（10-bit format with LongGOP compression.
C4K (4096 x 2160) at 50p (approx. 152Mbps)
C4K at 25p (approx. 80Mbps)
C4K at 50p with Digital Teleconverter.
4K (3840 x 2160) at 50p (approx. 155Mbps)
4K at 25p (approx. 77Mbps)
FHD (1920 x 1080) at 50p (approx. 162Mbps)
FHD at 24p (approx. 85Mbps)
Rating
RRP: AU$3,199 (body only); $3,799 (with 12-45mm kit lens)
- Build: 9.0
- Features: 9.0
- Ease of use: 8.8
- Autofocusing: 9.0
- Still image quality JPEG: 8.9
- Still image quality RAW: 8.9
- Video quality: 8.9
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